By: Elizabeth Haarberg

Mystery of Death

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Death is hard. There is no way to change that narrative. Some time in our life we will be touched by death. The pain of not having the person physically on earth is gut-wrenching. 

The other side of death is also true. When someone close to us dies there are good things that come through the reflection and pain.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24 ESV

The challenge of the wheat seed story is that only through death will the wheat seed produce fruit. Good things come from death even if we can’t see them immediately. The wheat seed does not produce fruit immediately after death but over time we can see the good that comes from the dead seed.

Death was also necessary for the resurrection.

“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14:4

Death and life cannot be separated.

It seems to be easy to celebrate a new life, but we grieve the passing. If the two are intertwined, why do we have such a difficult time with death?

“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.” Ecclesiastes 9:5 ESV

Could it be we have a difficult time with death because the dead will be forgotten? Not seeing someone physically with our eyes, it is difficult to imagine that they are still living on in a different dimension.

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Take comfort that the mystery of death is evidence of the divine influence still in effect on earth, that God is still God, and He determines many areas of life that we may never truly know, understand, or control.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado